


feels like flying

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (Keith) character study, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Team Dynamics, small mention of PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 10:44:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8141053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Keith falls in love in the same way he sleeps; slowly and then all at once.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about Keith and what an interesting character he was and then this happened, so I hope you like it! 
> 
> (VLD is so amazing and I'm so happy it exits - I can't wait for season 2!)

 

 

 

Everyone was dressed the same, following the same orders day after day. The food never changed, the bed never got any softer. At night when it was quiet was the most memorable part of his time there.

  
So he changed it up. He disobeyed orders, he followed his own path. He shows indifference when he’s kicked out. Ignoring the stares of the other students and leaving one night in a stolen aircraft, he flies away. Days might have passed, weeks maybe, he finds an abandoned shack in a desolate area and sets up camp.

  
He feels more at home after that.

  
Busying himself with searching the area he then falls into a pattern. Get up, eat. Go outside to check for life. Spend hours in the caves. Come back home and sleep and dream.

  
It gets cold at night. He likes the feeling it gives him, waking up his bones, begins to change his sleeping pattern and so he rests during the day instead. Sometimes he pretends he’s not alone; brief glimpses of people he’s not entirely sure he remembers. He tries to recall names from the Garrison to keep him sane. Imagines faces walking by - twin girls, a man with a silver beard, a tall Latino boy.

  
He marks off the days as they pass, the sound as he etches it into the metal becoming a sharp reminder.

  
One night he stops in his tracks. He’s not sure why, but he has this feeling. He follows a whisper. A call. Speeding up on his aircraft, the sting of sand hitting his face as he flies through the desert. He makes a right turn, then left. He sees the Garrison again after so long, a group of people guarding a tent nearby. His mission is inside it.

  
The diversion works. They swarm away and he slinks in. There’s a man on a bed - Shiro, he looks hurt. Keith goes to help. And then someone appears, yelling; a boy Keith had sometimes seen in his dreams.

  
He exclaims, “Oh no you don’t, _I’m_ going to rescue Shiro,” there’s immaturity in his voice, followed by a ramble about how this boy, _Lance_ , seems to think they know each other well enough to start bickering about Keith right to his face.

  
Keith ignores him. He flies them away, only barely. Not used to having people around him again, he feels wary to bring them back to his shack. But he tells them what he knows. What he’s found. They think it’s all connected somehow.

  
They go out and search. And then they find it – a blue lion. He watches as Lance brings it to life, jerking into motion like it’s moving for the first time. And then they’re in the sky, in space, and it’s amazing.

  
Keith suddenly remembers why he always wanted to fly.

 

-

 

They’re a team now, somehow. They’ve all found a lion to pilot. It’s exhilarating, Keith marvels the feeling every time he starts it up.

  
They're sent on missions. They're told to bond together ("It's the only way to form Voltron," Allura says) and for the most part, it works.

  
The only trouble that seems to follow him is Lance. He doesn’t like Keith, so Keith doesn’t like him back. Sometimes it screws up their missions, most times it ends in bickering that Keith would rather have no part of. On occasion they agree to put their differences aside and work together.

  
Keith still dreams of him though, sometimes. 

  
There are instances when he walks around at night, still trapped in his previous sleeping pattern, and the vast emptiness of the castle walls echo around him as he steps. Occasionally he wishes he were never chosen for this, that this was a fight much too large for a child. He walks past a room that’s wide in space, the large windows showing stars and galaxies he’s never even heard of. Then he notices Lance sitting, legs pulled up to his chest - Keith wonders if he should go over to him. But his words get stuck in his throat so he retreats to his room, squeezing his eyes shut as he begs for sleep to take him away.

 

-

 

It wasn’t until Sendak had tried to take the castle from them that Keith had a real moment of companionship with Lance. When he’d asked the other boy if he was okay, Lance had breathed out, almost whimsically, “We did it,” and looked up at Keith with warm eyes, saying, “We _are_ a good team,”. Lance smiled crookedly at him and Keith felt himself smile back, something he realised he had rarely shared with Lance.

  
When Lance had been placed under sedation in the healing pod Keith was shocked to feel himself grow impatient. He found himself checking on Lance every hour or so, anxious, worried; just wanting to hear his voice again.

  
That night when he’d been awake for hours with no promise of sleep in sight, he made his way to the pods once more.

  
“Hey Lance,” he greeted, voice small as he lightly touched the glass near Lance's heart. He sat down, feeling more relaxed now that he was near the other boy. Resting his head against the glass of the pod, the coolness of it causing his eyes to close slowly from the sensation.

  
“I’m not sure if you can hear me,” Keith started, glancing up slightly to check anyway. Lance remained still; it was oddly chilling, Keith wasn’t sure he liked it. “Just… get better soon, okay?”

  
He fell asleep like that.

 

-

 

Keith thinks they might be okay, after that. Lance doesn't exactly become his best buddy all of a sudden, but he doesn't insult Keith anymore. Their teamwork is more fluid, they look out for each other. Shiro is happy, so are Allura and Coran.

  
They're placed together to help save the Balmera, moving through the caves of the planet to the main location of the Galra ships. Lance actually surprises him with a plan better than his. It works, too, sealing off the entrances and taking out the guards. Keith briefly wonders why they ever had this bitter rivalry with each other in the first place.

  
Keith falls asleep straight away for the first time that night. He see's smiling faces, hears words of praise and celebration. He see's Lance, he feels him grow closer; he feels his touch, his smile, Keith's hand resting over the other boy's heart, thrumming.

  
He dreams of Lance. 

 

-

 

The worst happens.

  
They'd successfully rescued Allura and it was looking like they might be okay. They flew off, into the wormhole, into the unknown. There was a flash, a wave of panic, a jolt he felt through his body.

  
And then he was alone.  
  
  
He blinked. He breathed. He searched around for his team.  
  
  
Nothing.

  
He was alone.

 

-

 

Days have passed, weeks maybe. Keith tries to remain collected. He tries to think, to plan a way back home, to survive.

  
But he's so lost.

  
Everything begins to look the same. He talks to Red to keep himself sane; the only sound to be heard is his voice and the gears of the lion as it moves through the vast emptiness of space.

  
He closes his eyes, wishing to dream again. He's safe in his dreams, he's with his team, he's with Lance. He tries to reach out and all he meets is empty space.

  
He is alone.

 

-

 

Sometimes he thinks he sees his crew. He pictures the wormhole appearing again; the castle poking through, its pure white shape giving Keith hope. Red shakes him into reality, her whines full of worry as Keith cries.

  
One day he cries for a long time, until no more tears fall and he's exhausted.

  
All he can do is breathe.

 

-

 

He doesn't know when but suddenly he's not alone anymore. Shiro is there, shaking him awake. Pidge as well, their face pulled into a concerned look. Keith is convinced he's lost it, his mind too scrambled after so much isolation, quietly begging for Shiro to finish him off.

  
Shiro shakes his head, expression stern, says, "Keith you're safe, we've found you and you're safe."

  
Keith feels his face become wet with tears again. "Then where's Lance?"

  
He's met with sad stares. Keith closes his eyes. He sleeps that night, not dreaming about anything.

  
The next morning they gather what little their team is and search through space and time until they find their friends.

  
Keith prays again. For the others, for them, for everyone he ever left behind.

  
The universe is quiet without Lance.

 

-

 

By some miracle they find the castle. Keith feels his heartbeat in his ears. They board the ship, Coran greeting them with fierce hugs. Hunk and Allura are there too, and there's a brief moment of happiness, right then, as he's surrounded by his friends. Keith gets distracted, asking about Lance, wanting to celebrate with him.

  
Coran gives him a mournful look and Keith just about has a heart attack, only breathing again once Coran informs him they are still looking for him. 

  
Keith is the first to volunteer to watch for the signals of the blue lion. Shiro gives him stern looks when he refuses to sleep or eat, too focused on getting Lance back.

  
Pidge asks him one night why he's doing this.

  
"This?" Keith questions.

  
Pidge pauses, collecting their words. "I mean... you care for Lance."

  
"Of course," Keith shoots back, trying to cloak his annoyance.

  
Pidge's look turns sombre, eyes soft, saying matter-of-factly in a quiet voice, "You love him."

  
Keith stops. He turns away, distracting himself with the map and moving it around aimlessly. Soon he hears Pidge leave but not until after they say they're here if he needs them, and when he's alone again he breathes deep, body shaking.

  
He keeps looking.

 

-

 

They find Lance.  
  
  
A transmission comes through, saying a blue lion was found in a nearby galaxy. They head there quickly, Keith's heart caught in his throat as they speed past planets and stars to get to him.

  
He's the first off the ship, the first to see the blue lion, the first to hold Lance again. Lance feels so small in his arms, so fragile and unlike the boy he got to know. Keith cries again into the crook of Lance's neck. Lance mumbles, "Keith," before promptly passing out.

  
Lance stays in the healing pod for two days and Keith tries to stay calm, reminding himself they're all together again. Shiro votes for them to hide away for a while, deciding they need time to recover from the whole ordeal. Keith tires himself out by training, fighting until his body can no longer take it, screaming at him.

  
For the first time in what feels like ages Keith dreams again.

  
He's back on Earth. He has a family; they welcome him with open arms. Keith is happy. Lance is there, smiling over at him so softly it makes Keith's heart stutter.

  
He's home.

 

-

 

When Lance stumbles out of the pod Keith is there to catch him.

  
"Hey," he says quietly, helping him to stand.

  
Lance whispers back, "Hi."

  
Keith gently insists Lance should eat something, the both of them heading to the dining hall. When he's done Lance asks Keith to follow him. They go to the room Keith used to find Lance in a lot, sitting down gingerly as they look out at the stars. Lance tells him about his family back home, how he misses his mothers hugs and her cooking. His sister's who tease him constantly. His grandfather who doesn't speak any English so Lance learnt most of his Spanish from him.  
  
  
Keith listens, learning, the sound of Lance's voice something he missed like a limb.

  
They fall asleep like that, shoulder to shoulder.

 

-

 

They're Voltron again.

  
Almost a month has passed since their separation in space, but they're slowly becoming a team again, fighting again, working again. 

  
Keith sometimes hears Lance scream out at night, though, running to his room to pull him into his arms, Lance gripping his shoulders hard enough to leave indents.

  
Lance doesn't tell him about his nightmares using words, only with light touches and deep looks; but Keith understands; he knows, knows what Lance went through, what they _all_ went through. He vows then to protect this boy until his last breath.

 

-

 

Zarkon comes close to destroying Voltron, and there's a brief moment of panic when they think Pidge's lion is blasted off of it's hinges. Hunk form's the shoulder cannon and distracts the fleet of Galra ships long enough to jump through a wormhole in retreat.

  
Dinner is quiet, most of them scared about almost being separated again. Shiro's voice breaks the silence, saying he's still proud of them, proud that they haven't given up yet. After that they become even stronger, fighting for each other, training until one of them can't continue anymore. Together or not at all.

  
Keith searches out Lance one night, finding the boy in his room and looking impossibly small on his bed.

  
Keith is about to come closer but then Lance looks up at him, his eyes piercing and jaw set.

  
"Do you love me?" Lance asks, his words punching Keith in the gut.

  
Keith swallows. "W-what-"  
  


"You love me: yes or no," Lance gets up, inching closer.

  
"Lance," Keith trembles, the answer stuck in his throat.

  
Lance is only a breath away now, voice quiet and full of meaning, "Keith Kogane, do you love me?"

  
This is it.

  
Keith looks him square in the eyes, blood hot and nerves on fire. "Yes."

  
A moment passes. Lance is quiet before he lets out a deep breath, warm as it ghosts over Keith's face and making him shiver.

  
"Thank god," is all Lance says before he leans in to kiss him.

  
Keith feels himself respond, clutching, crying, so unbelievably happy.

  
Lance makes him feel like flying.

 

 

 


End file.
